I bought a house recently. In doing so, I went to a mortgage broker that a friend recommended. It was a small office, just the broker and an assistant.
I was delighted to see a security collection console belonging to a NAID Member in her office and I proceeded to tell her what I did for a living. I hate to admit it, but I was actually a little surprised to see it there. Mortgage lending is a paper-intensive environment with lots of sensitive information, but there were still only two employees.
When I asked how she had decided to use a service, she said that she was aware of her obligations to shred and had been using a small shredder for years. The problem was, she said, the shredders kept breaking. When it did run, it was slower than molasses. The mortgage broker said she noticed she and her assistant tended to start tossing out stuff without shredding, just because it was a hassle.
One day she saw the truck of a shredding service and called them. She said it ended up being just as cost effective as shredding it herself, all things considered. Besides, she continued, even if it was slightly more expensive, it was well worth it to have someone else doing it: It saved her time and gave her peace of mind. She liked that the service had insurance that covered her business if something happened. She liked that it was no problem if she had extra boxes. She liked the certainty that everything that needed to be shredded was shredded. She was as confident as a person could be that outsourcing her shredding was a smart move.
The very next week, I visited a doctor on a routine checkup. One of his office staff was complaining that the paper was piling up by the shredder because it was broken again. It turns out they were replacing their shredder once a month. Needless to say, after talking to me, they soon found a NAID member for their shredding and are pleased with their decision.
About a month later, I was vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii, the largest of the islands, but the least populated. I was in a one-person car rental office in the small city of Hilo. You guessed it: In the corner was a security console of another NAID member.
Using a shredding service is a solution even in the smallest offices. The examples above are indications that we are making progress there, but in reality we have not even scratched the surface of that market. It may well represent half or more of the total potential business and will be the largest source of sustained growth for our industry in the years to come.
Gradually, this market is opening up. That business will go to those who see its value and are prepared to capitalize on it . . . NAID members, I am sure.
Bob Johnson is the executive director of the National Association for Information Destruction. He can be reached at exedir@naidonline.org